Patents by Inventor Tomoaki Takahashi

Tomoaki Takahashi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20100123869
    Abstract: A display device includes: on an insulating substrate, a first conductive layer in which a first signal line and a second signal line adjacent to the first signal line are formed; an insulating layer which is disposed on the first conductive layer; a second conductive layer which is disposed on the insulating layer and in which a ground wire crossing the first signal line and the second signal line in a plan view is formed; and a semiconductor layer which is disposed between the insulating layer and the second conductive layer and in which a first semiconductor film and a second semiconductor film are formed to be separated from each other. The wiring lengths of the first signal line and the second signal line are different by at least 10 times or more. The first semiconductor film overlaps, in a plan view, a region where the first signal line crosses the ground wire. The second semiconductor film overlaps, in a plan view, a region where the second signal line crosses the ground wire.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2009
    Publication date: May 20, 2010
    Inventors: Hirokazu ITAKURA, Hitoshi Komeno, Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7699443
    Abstract: The present invention is a piezoelectric actuator unit 29 having piezoelectric vibrators 33 vibrating in the lamination direction of electrode layers and piezoelectric material layers which are alternately laminated. The piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in one row in the direction of vibrator arrangement perpendicular to the lamination direction. Each of the piezoelectric vibrators includes the area on one side and the area on the other side in the direction of the vibrator width perpendicular to the lamination and vibrator arrangement directions, and either of the area on one side and the area on the other side forms active parts capable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and the other area forms inactive parts incapable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and in the adjacent piezoelectric vibrators, the arrangement of the active part and inactive part is opposite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20100079535
    Abstract: Provided is an inspection device for a liquid ejecting head including: a first vibration plate which is positioned at a position opposite to the nozzle openings of the liquid ejecting head for ejecting a liquid from the nozzle openings such that the liquid ejected from the nozzle openings of the liquid ejecting head lands thereon; a first piezoelectric element bonded to the first vibration plate; and a detecting unit which is connected to the first piezoelectric element so as to detect an electrical variation in the first piezoelectric element, wherein the detecting unit inspects the ejection state of the nozzle openings based on a voltage variation in the first piezoelectric element by the liquid landing onto the first vibration plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2009
    Publication date: April 1, 2010
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomohiro SAYAMA, Tomoaki TAKAHASHI
  • Patent number: 7641312
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head of the present invention has a nozzle plate including a nozzle substrate composed of a non-conductive material in which nozzle openings pass through the nozzle substrate and a conductive film formed to cover at least a part of the inner peripheral wall surface of the nozzle opening. The film forming area where the conductive film is formed includes the moving range of a meniscus moving on the inner peripheral wall surface of the nozzle opening in accordance with the ejection operation of liquid drops from the nozzle opening. According to the present invention, even if a non-conductive nozzle plate is used, a charge can be injected smoothly into liquid drops without causing problems of deterioration of the image quality due to electrophoresis and of defective ejection due to foreign substances and gas generated by electrolysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2010
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7618105
    Abstract: The invention relates to a liquid sensor which can certainly judge the existence of liquid, and a liquid container including the sensor. A liquid sensor 60 in which a piezoelectric element having a piezoelectric layer 47 on both surfaces of which electrodes 46 and 49 are formed is used, and a bottom 43a of a cavity 43 for receiving liquid as a detection object is vibrated. The sensor 60 includes a vibration cavity forming base portion 40 in which the cavity 43 having the vibratable bottom 43a is formed, and a flow path forming base portion 50 laminated on the vibration cavity forming base portion 40. A liquid supply path 53 for supplying the liquid as the detection object to the cavity 43 and a liquid discharge path 54 for discharging the liquid as the detection object from the cavity 43 are formed in the flow path forming base portion 50.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoaki Takahashi, Junhua Zhang
  • Publication number: 20090201346
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head which includes a flow passage forming substrate that has pressure generating chambers which communicate with nozzles capable of ejecting a liquid, pressure generating elements which apply pressure to the pressure generating chambers in order to eject the liquid from the nozzles, lead electrodes that supply electric signals to the pressure generating elements, wiring substrates that supply the electric signals to the lead electrodes, and a supporting member that supports the wiring substrates so as to raise the wiring substrates from a surface of the liquid ejecting head having the lead electrodes provided thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2009
    Publication date: August 13, 2009
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshinao MIYATA, Kazutoshi GOTO, Satoshi NAKAJIMA, Toshiaki KORI, Tomoaki TAKAHASHI
  • Patent number: 7553003
    Abstract: A liquid-jet head, comprising: a nozzle plate having nozzle orifices bored therein; a passage-forming substrate provided with recesses including pressure generating chambers communicating with the nozzle orifices; piezoelectric elements provided on a surface of the passage-forming substrate via a vibration plate, each piezoelectric element including a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and an upper electrode; and a joining plate joined to the surface of the passage-forming substrate, where the piezoelectric elements are formed, via an adhesive layer comprising an adhesive agent, wherein a plurality of contact portions and a joining portion are provided in a region where the joining plate is joined to the passage-forming substrate, the plurality of contact portions are protruded at a predetermined height on the vibration plate, and are substantially contacted by the joining plate, and the joining portion has the adhesive layer of a thickness equal to or larger than the height of the contact portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoaki Takahashi, Yoshinao Miyata, Kazutoshi Goto
  • Patent number: 7524038
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid-jet head and a liquid-jet apparatus each capable of stabilizing liquid ejection characteristics in favorable states, and also capable of preventing destruction of a vibration plate. Disclosed is a liquid-jet head including a laminated electrode which is provided on the vibration plate outward of a region corresponding to the piezoelectric elements, and is electrically connected to the lower electrode. In the liquid-jet head, a stress relaxing layer is provided at least in regions corresponding to edge portions of the laminated electrode between the laminated electrode and the vibration plate, the stress relaxing layer being made of a material having a linear expansion coefficient greater than that of the vibration plate and less than that of the laminated electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2009
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7441855
    Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus is operated under a basic recording mode for recording through use of a basic unit pixel which is associated with a unit recording area corresponding to a unit print cycle, and a high-resolution recording mode for recording through use of a fine unit pixel, a plurality of fine unit pixels being arranged within the unit recording area in a main scanning direction of the recording head. The print data is developed into the jetting data such that each bit therein indicates whether the recording is conducted or not in each associated fine unit pixel, when the high-resolution recording mode is selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2008
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoaki Takahashi, Noboru Tamura
  • Patent number: 7435302
    Abstract: A cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a brush drive mechanism which brings a brush being rotating closer to a substrate, measures electrical potentials generated on a plurality of conductor patterns formed on the substrate, by a contact and separation with/from tips of scrub materials of the brush being rotating, and controls a positioning of the brush by use of the measurement results. With the process as described above, it is possible to treat uniformly a surface to-be-cleaned for a large-sized substrate, with the cleaning brush. Consequently, it is possible to form a highly qualified transistor for liquid crystal display on the substrate having been cleaned, with enhancing yield.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Displays, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoichi Takahara, Masahiro Yamada, Noriyuki Ohroku, Shoji Asaka, Tomoaki Takahashi, Hiroshi Kawanago, Hideaki Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20080246806
    Abstract: A method for producing an elastic plate for a liquid jet head, which includes etching a rolled metal plate based on a rolling direction of the rolled metal plate, to form an etched portion and a non-etched portion on the rolled metal plate. The thickness of the etched portion is thinner than the thickness of the non-etched portion and the rolling direction is substantially perpendicular to a long side of the rolled metal plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2008
    Publication date: October 9, 2008
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoaki Takahashi, Minoru Watanabe, Atsushi Furuhata
  • Publication number: 20080244906
    Abstract: A method for producing an elastic plate for a liquid jet head, which includes etching a rolled metal plate based on a rolling direction of the rolled metal plate, to form an etched portion and a non-etched portion on the rolled metal plate. The thickness of the etched portion is thinner than the thickness of the non-etched portion and the rolling direction is substantially perpendicular to a long side of the rolled metal plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2008
    Publication date: October 9, 2008
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoaki TAKAHASHI, Minoru Watanabe, Atsushi Furuhata
  • Publication number: 20080218561
    Abstract: A liquid-jet head includes a passage-forming substrate. A plurality of pressure generating chambers communicating with nozzles. Piezoelectric elements each include a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer and an upper electrode. Leads for the upper and lower electrodes are drawn out. In the liquid-jet head, the lower electrode is a common electrode continuously provided in the region facing the pressure generating chambers. At least an end on one side of the lower electrode in a direction perpendicular to an arrangement direction of the pressure generating chambers is positioned in the region facing the pressure generating chambers. The lead electrode for the lower electrode is provided outside of a region corresponding to a space between the pressure generating chambers. The lead electrode for the lower electrode is connected through a common lead portion extended from the lower electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2008
    Publication date: September 11, 2008
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7382083
    Abstract: The present invention is a piezoelectric actuator unit 29 having piezoelectric vibrators 33 vibrating in the lamination direction of electrode layers and piezoelectric material layers which are alternately laminated. The piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in one row in the direction of vibrator arrangement perpendicular to the lamination direction. Each of the piezoelectric vibrators includes the area on one side and the area on the other side in the direction of the vibrator width perpendicular to the lamination and vibrator arrangement directions, and either of the area on one side and the area on the other side forms active parts capable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and the other area forms inactive parts incapable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and in the adjacent piezoelectric vibrators, the arrangement of the active part and inactive part is opposite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7367654
    Abstract: The present apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle plate with an ejecting hole through which a liquid is discharged, a conductive member disposed behind an object being processed opposite to the liquid ejecting head, a potential difference generating device for generating a potential difference between the nozzle plate and the conductive member, and a switching control device for turning on and off the potential difference generating device. The switching control device decides whether a process to which the object is subjected is a borderless recording process that drops liquid drops on an edge part of the object or a bordered recording process that does not drop any liquid drops on the edge part, and turns off the potential difference generating device when the bordered recording process is executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Takayuki Togashi, Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7364273
    Abstract: A liquid-jet head includes a passage-forming substrate. A plurality of pressure generating chambers communicate with nozzles. Piezoelectric elements each include a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer and an upper electrode. Leads for the upper and lower electrodes are drawn out. In the liquid-jet head, the lower electrode is a common electrode continuously provided in the region facing the pressure generating chambers. At least an end on one side of the lower electrode in a direction perpendicular to an arrangement direction of the pressure generating chambers is positioned in the region facing the pressure generating chambers. The lead electrode for the lower electrode is provided outside of a region corresponding to a space between the pressure generating chambers. The lead electrode for the lower electrode is connected through a common lead portion extended from the lower electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20080012907
    Abstract: Provided is an actuator device including piezoelectric elements which are displaceably provided on a substrate. Each piezoelectric element is formed of a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer and an upper electrode. In the actuator device, longitudinal end portions of the upper electrode define longitudinal end portions of a piezoelectric active portion to be a substantial driver of the piezoelectric element. The lower electrode and the piezoelectric layer are provided continuously to the longitudinal outside of the piezoelectric active portion. Regions of the piezoelectric layer outside of the piezoelectric active portion are formed so that thin film portions may have a thin thickness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2007
    Publication date: January 17, 2008
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomoaki TAKAHASHI
  • Publication number: 20080007138
    Abstract: The present invention is a piezoelectric actuator unit 29 having piezoelectric vibrators 33 vibrating in the lamination direction of electrode layers and piezoelectric material layers which are alternately laminated. The piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in one row in the direction of vibrator arrangement perpendicular to the lamination direction. Each of the piezoelectric vibrators includes the area on one side and the area on the other side in the direction of the vibrator width perpendicular to the lamination and vibrator arrangement directions, and either of the area on one side and the area on the other side forms active parts capable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and the other area forms inactive parts incapable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and in the adjacent piezoelectric vibrators, the arrangement of the active part and inactive part is opposite.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2007
    Publication date: January 10, 2008
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki TAKAHASHI
  • Publication number: 20070296772
    Abstract: The present invention is a piezoelectric actuator unit 29 having piezoelectric vibrators 33 vibrating in the lamination direction of electrode layers and piezoelectric material layers which are alternately laminated. The piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in one row in the direction of vibrator arrangement perpendicular to the lamination direction. Each of the piezoelectric vibrators includes the area on one side and the area on the other side in the direction of the vibrator width perpendicular to the lamination and vibrator arrangement directions, and either of the area on one side and the area on the other side forms active parts capable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and the other area forms inactive parts incapable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and in the adjacent piezoelectric vibrators, the arrangement of the active part and inactive part is opposite.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2007
    Publication date: December 27, 2007
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki TAKAHASHI
  • Patent number: 7288874
    Abstract: The present invention is a piezoelectric actuator unit 29 having piezoelectric vibrators 33 vibrating in the lamination direction of electrode layers and piezoelectric material layers which are alternately laminated. The piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in one row in the direction of vibrator arrangement perpendicular to the lamination direction. Each of the piezoelectric vibrators includes the area on one side and the area on the other side in the direction of the vibrator width perpendicular to the lamination and vibrator arrangement directions, and either of the area on one side and the area on the other side forms active parts capable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and the other area forms inactive parts incapable of performing piezoelectric deformation, and in the adjacent piezoelectric vibrators, the arrangement of the active part and inactive part is opposite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2007
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki Takahashi